Ace: aceofspadeshq at gee mail.com
Buck: buck.throckmorton at protonmail.com
CBD: cbd at cutjibnewsletter.com
joe mannix: mannix2024 at proton.me
MisHum: petmorons at gee mail.com
J.J. Sefton: sefton at cutjibnewsletter.com
Chavez the Hugo 2020
Ibguy 2020
Rickl 2019
Joffen 2014
AoSHQ Writers Group
A site for members of the Horde to post their stories seeking beta readers, editing help, brainstorming, and story ideas. Also to share links to potential publishing outlets, writing help sites, and videos posting tips to get published.
Contact OrangeEnt for info: maildrop62 at proton dot me
Sunday Morning Book Thread - 12-21-2025 ["Perfessor" Squirrel]
—Open Blogger
Welcome to the prestigious, internationally acclaimed, stately, and illustrious Sunday Morning Book Thread! The place where all readers are welcome, regardless of whatever guilty pleasure we feel like reading (Jesus Christ was born!). Here is where we can discuss, argue, bicker, quibble, consider, debate, confabulate, converse, and jaw about our latest fancy in reading material. As always, pants are required, unless you are wearing these pants...(HT: TheJamesMadison was unavailable for comment)
So relax, find yourself a warm kitty (or warm puppy--I won't judge) to curl up in your lap, sneak a peek at a Christmas present under the tree, and dive into a new book. What are YOU reading this fine morning?
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
14 "Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill[e] toward men!"
15 So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, "Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us."
-- Luke 2:13-15 (NKJV)
PIC NOTE
As much as we like to tear AI apart, sometimes it does amazing work. I described the scene as pictured above and Grok really came through for me! Now the real question is when is Musk going to develop his army of robot squirrels to gather nuts for me?
WRITING A BOOK AS A LIPPOGRAM
I had heard of this book, but didn't know much about it until now. Imagine the creative thinking that has to go into writing a 50,000 word novel that doesn't use the letter "e." Not once. That's some serious OCD at work. Not for me. Science fiction authors Stephen Baxter and Frederick Pohl would also struggle with this. Stephen Baxter created the Xeelee Sequence of novels, which chronicle mankind's aeons-long battle against ancient aliens nearly as old as creation itself. Frederick Pohl wrote the Heechee Saga, where mankind discovers alien technology they don't understand but can exploit to expand our horizons and escape an overcrowded, resource-exhausted Earth.
Other authors have taken up the challenge, to varying levels of success, I guess. I suppose now we could simply ask Generative AI to write a story that doesn't use the letter "e." Or any other letter. Or maybe write a story only using the letter "e."
One of our regular commenters is already well on his way:
How long before we csn stsrt going lord of the flies snd stsrt msking pointy sticks. Becsuse I've got s lot of sticks out bsck, msny of them slresdy very pointy.
Posted by: bsnsns Dresm at December 19, 2025 12:58 PM (3uBP9)
++++++++++
++++++++++
5 SCI-FI CLICHES TO AVOID
Here are the cliches:
Scientific Info Dumps -- A lot of stories are guilty of this when the author is trying to convey information about the world to the reader. When done well, it feels natural, because we are experiencing the information as a character would. When done poorly, one character is telling another character information the second character already knows.
Aliens with Silly Weaknesses -- Unless a story is comedic, writers should avoid this at all costs! Aliens should feel, well, ALIEN, thus if they are antagonists, then the heroes should really struggle to find an alien's Achilles heel. Making them vulnerable to a common substance (like water in Signs) is dumb and makes the aliens look stupid and impotent. Doctor Who is full of examples of this.
Slopppy Time Travel -- Time travel stories are among the most challenging to write if you want to maintain a certain level of consistency in a timeline. The most common "out" is to explain it via multi-verse theory. The problem is that this can also be very difficult to explain to your audience well. It also opens up more plotholes and paradoxes.
Rushed Romance -- I've seen this in a few stories, but it's not confined to just science fiction. Any genre can suffer from this problem if the characters are not well-developed. Including romance subplots means focusing on the characters and their relationships more than focusing on just the science and technology within the story. Not ever author is going to take the time to explore both aspects in sufficient detail to lead to a satisfying outcome. One or the other will suffer as a result.
Tech Ex Machina -- Sometimes this can work, but it can also lead to a rushed and unsatisfying ending because the end result was "too easy." There's nothing wrong with introducing a new technology in a story that resolves plot threads, but the outcome needs to feel as though it's a natural result, rather than a way to fix a plot hole. The Last Jedi movie was quite guilty of this with the "Holdo Maneuver." This new application of technology absolutely WRECKED space travel and warfare in the Star Wars Expanded Universe. Neither Rian Johnson nor J.J. Abrams can write their way out of a paper bag, so J.J.'s dumb explanation for it in The Rise of Skywalker was, "It was a million-to-one shot!" as though he'd just fallen and landed on Fusilli Jerry.
Note that cliches in and of themselves aren't necessarily bad writing. We use cliches for a reason and when they work well, they can make a story entertaining to read or watch on television. The Sherlock Holmes/Agatha Christie style mystery has been done to death by countless authors and television shows, but we still enjoy them.
Of course, as Brandon points out, they can be overused and thus become annoying to the reader/viewer. Or the author simply doesn't know how to use them effectively within the story.
+-----+-----+-----+-----+
BOOKS BY MORONS
Sarah A. Hoyt has a new Christmas-themed collection she's just released:
Christmas In Time: A Collection of Short Stories
(Sarah A. Hoyt's Short Story Collections)
From award-winning author Sarah A. Hoyt come six tales of time travel, parallel worlds, and the furthest reaches of space—all bound together by Christmas miracles and the choices that define us.
Meet Time Corps agents who risk madness to prevent reality from splintering. Follow a mathematician pulled into a parallel universe where his twin captains starships between worlds. Watch as mysterious children arrive from impossible futures, and discover Victorian lighthouses that serve as anchors in the storm of time itself. Journey from blood-soaked space stations to asteroid colonies at the edge of the known universe.
This collection includes "What Child Is This," a prequel to Hoyt's acclaimed novel No Man's Land, revealing how a child's accidental time-slip can save a man’s life and create the bonds of family love.
MORON RECOMMENDATIONS
I read Shroud by Adrian Tchaikovsky. I've read a lot of science fiction and I don't know how I missed this author. Shroud is a high-gravity, high-pressure, zero-oxygen moon. It is pitch black, but alive with radio activity. Due to an accident, Juna and Mai are forced to make an emergency landing there in their small, barely adequate vehicle. Unable to contact their ship, they are force to journey across land, sea, and air. Chapters alternate between the human viewpoint and the viewpoint of Shroud's dominate species as they try to understand each other. Fascinating story, interesting characters.
Posted by: Zoltan at December 14, 2025 10:51 AM (VOrDg)
Comment: I almost bought Shroud when I was looking at Adrian Tchaikovsky stories, but decided to go for his Final Architecture series. It sounded interesting, sort of like Pitch Black in some ways. I'm not a huge fan of survival stories, so I decided against it in the end. Maybe if I like The Final Architecture I'll come back and revisit this.
++++++++++
Started my traditional Christmas books. This week was The Christmas Cantata, one of the Liturgical Mysteries series by Mark Schweizer. An older friend, now gone, got me a signed hardcover edition as a gift. I was already a fan of the series. This one is a mystery but not a murder mystery. It is heartbreakingly poignant at times, includes his trademark humor, and is a story of redemption and acceptance. I fell in love with it on that first reading years ago and look forward to it every season.
Posted by: JTB at December 14, 2025 10:49 AM (yTvNw)
Comment: Since Christmas is just around the corner, I thought it would be nice to highlight Moron-recommended uplifting literature. It's always nice to have a spiritual pick-me-up when I am feeling low. Or when it feels like the world is spiraling into utter chaos. There is always a plan, even when we can't see it. HE can see it, which is good enough for me. I'll simply try to play my role in His grand design.
Both of my bosses were kind enough to give me a couple of gift cards as a small token of appreciation for my work, so I naturally spent them on books. I used one to buy the first book of a series, another to buy the second book, and then went ahead and purchased the third book on my own:
The Final Architecture Book 1 - Shards of Earth by Adrian Tchaikovsky
The Final Architecture Book 2 - Eyes of the Void by Adrian Tchaikovsky
The Final Architecture Book 3 - Lords of Uncreation by Adrian Tchaikovksy
WHAT I'VE BEEN READING THIS PAST WEEK:
Star Trek - The Next Generation - Masks by John Vorholt
Like most Star Trek novels, this is an extended episode. In fact, it reads very much like it might have been a storyline from ST: TNG that was abandoned for some reason. Maybe it was too long. Maybe the showrunners felt they couldn't do it justice. Doesn't matter. I just strapped myself in and enjoyed a pleasant stroll across the world of Lorca as seen through the eyes of the crew of the USS Enterprise-D
Storywise, two hundred years ago (give or take), an Earth colony ship carrying a troupe of minstrel performers crashlanded on Lorca. The tectonic instability and other environmental factors destroyed much of their technology, so the survivors cobbled together a quasi-medieval society with a highly-stratisfied caste system based on masks. Everyone wears a mask all the time and your mask identifies your role in society. You can challenge others for their mask via duels as a way to advance in society. Otherwise, you are stuck as a peasant mask. Naturally, the higher the rank, the more elaborate the mask. The most valuable and important mask is the Wisdom Mask. Whomever wears that has earned the right to be the leader of all Lorcan society.
Against this background, the crew of the Enterprise are bringing a Federation ambassador to welcome the Lorcans back into Federation society after being rediscovered recently. Oddly, the Prime Directive is in effect because they are now a pre-warp civilization, even though they had warp-drive technology in the past. The Federation ambassador has his own agenda for Lorcan society. The Ferengi also get involved because they've been exploiting the Lorcans for their masks, which they can sell for profit on the black market.
As I mentioned, it's really just an extended episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. There's even a mid-episode cliffhanger when Captain Picard is presumed dead (minor spoiler: he isn't).
Eternity's End by Jeffrey A. Carver
I picked this up at my most recent public library book sale. It's the story of a man who escapes a pirate fortress in space, only to be recruited for a top-secret mission by an alien race to find out what those rascally pirates are really up to. I think Carver was influenced by both Cordwainer Smith and Frank Herbert. His description of space travel through the dangerous, chaotic Flux sounds exactly like something Smith or Herbert would write. Legroeder, the main protagonist, belonged to the Rigger Guild before he was abandoned by them for reasons he's still trying to understand. "Rigging" is some sort of psychic ability to navigate the pathways through the Flux (hyperspace). The Flux has dep layers to it that are extremely hazardous to space travel, but may also hold many secrets. Carver has decent world-building skills here. Legroeder is an "everyman" who has been given some training, but nevertheless serves as the audience surrogate for this strange universe. There's also a fair amount of political intrigue. A starliner was lost in the Flux over a hundred years ago. From time to time, people report seeing it again. However, the Centrist worlds are bound and determined to squash any information about it, and will go to any lengths to prevent Legroeder from divulging information about the lost ship or even seeking more answers. They even framed him for murder to try and shut him up (when they weren't trying to assassinate him outright.)
You know how I said that the Minisforum AI X1-255 mini-PC that I bought cost 60-70% more on Minisforum's US store?
Strike that.
The US store was quoting me prices in AUD, making it just 10% more expensive than from Amazon Australia. (It's also available on Amazon US but they only have one in stock so you'd have to be quick.)
I used it last week trying to extract information from a thoroughly-but-incorrectly-documented API, with ultimate success. The API was shit but the AI saved me hours of painful iteration trying different functions looking for one that worked.
On the other hand, if you're carrying out a task where you know what to do you are likely better off doing it yourself, because you will end up with fewer and less severe bugs and a much better understanding of what the code is doing.
And it will in all probability save time doing it yourself.
Specifically they need to start optimisation before they even ship an early-access version, because they can no longer just recommend 32GB of RAM when customers can't buy 32GB of RAM.
While Larian themselves have not been guilty of this, I'm not sure being forced to optimise games from the start is a bad thing given the number of titles that have launched recently in a state that left the unplayable on even the fastest available hardware.
The value of your service provider not being able to recover your password is that they can't do anything else to your account either because they don't know who you are.
It's an underpowered overpriced gimmick called the Nex Playground aimed squarely at children. It uses motion tracking to let them interact directly with games without needing a controller, or any particular level of hand-eye co-ordination.
Saturday Night "Club ONT" December 20, 2025 [The 3 Ds]
—Open Blogger
Welcome to Club ONT. A collaboration the 3D's - The Disco, The Dino, and The Doggo. Five days until Christmas - we're in the home stretch. Come on in, unwind, and relax for a bit. Eggnog, Chex-Mix, both white and multicolored lights. We took the mistletoe down after the Christmas party.
That comment places RickZ and mindful webworker on the Club ONT VIP list. Lifetime of restroom tokens, complimentary jug of hooch, and the subtle nod that parts the velvet ropes (ok, the ropes are kite string and yarn, but still).
Two tourists were driving through Wisconsin. As they were approaching Oconomowoc, they started arguing about the pronunciation of its name. They argued back and forth until they stopped for lunch.
As they stood at the counter, one tourist asked the restaurant employee: "Before we order, could you please settle an argument for us? Would you please pronounce very slowly where we are?"
The employee leaned over the counter and said: "Burrrrrr, gerrrrrr, Kiiiing."
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Today I was beat up by a busty woman in an elevator. Evidently I was staring at her breasts when she said please press one. I don't remember much after that.
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(H/T - Teresa in Fort Worth)
Joe passed away; His will provided $30,000 for an elaborate funeral. As the last guests departed the affair, his wife, Helen, turned to her oldest friend. "Well, I'm sure Joe would be pleased," she said. "I'm sure you're right," replied Jody, who lowered her voice and leaned in close. "How much did this really cost?" "All of it," said Helen. "Thirty thousand." "No!" Jody exclaimed. "I mean, it was very nice, but $30,000?" Helen answered. "The funeral was $6,500. I donated $500 to the church. The wake, food and drinks were another $500. The rest went for the memorial stone." Jody computed quickly. "$22,500 for a memorial stone? My God, how big is it?!" "Two and a half carats."
Ingredients
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened 1 stick
1 cup sugar, dark brown
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups hot water
3/4 cup dark rum
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
cinnamon sticks for garnish
Instructions
In a large bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed for about 5 minutes or until light and fluffy.
Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, salt, and vanilla extract to the bowl and mix until well combined.
Transfer the spiced butter mixture to an airtight container and store in the fridge or freezer until ready to use.
To make the hot buttered rum, add 2 tablespoons of the spiced butter mixture to a mug.
Pour in 2 ounces of dark rum and top with 1 cup of hot water.
Stir until the spiced butter mixture is dissolved and the drink is smooth.
Garnish with a cinnamon stick or whipped cream, if desired.
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For Our Patrons Who No Do Not Partake
CBD is right, these recipe links are out of hand with the nonsense and scrolling required to get to what you want. Recipe below is going off memory and spitballin'. Your memory jokes are not that funny.
Grasshopper. Non-alcoholic style.
2 cups of vanilla ice cream (or whatever seems about right - give it a 'smoosh')
3 TBS Crème de menthe syrup (non-alcoholic, green mint syrup)
1 TBS Crème de cacao syrup (non-alcoholic, clear chocolate-flavored syrup)
Whipped Cream. Because whipped cream.
Maraschino cherry (fancy pants garnish)
Chuck all ingredients into blender (press the button - this is an important step)
Blend until you get that smooth, rolling thing going on with ingredients
Pour into most convenient glass in the cupboard and top with Maraschino cherry
Glance in mirror and raise your glass as you walk by
A Romanian murderer who sued God for "fraud" and "betrayal of trust" for failing to answer his prayers has had his case dismissed in court, a newspaper has reported.
The daily Evenimentul Zilei says 40-year-old Mircea Pavel brought charges against "the defendant God, who lives in the heavens and is represented in Romania by the Orthodox Church" for failing to free him from evil.
Mr Pavel, who is serving 20 years in jail for murder, accused God of "fraud, betrayal of trust, corruption and influence peddling."
"At my christening, I made a deal with the defendant aimed at freeing me from evil," he wrote.
"But the latter has not respected that agreement until now, although he received from me various assets and numerous prayers."
The court in Timisoara, in western Romania, dismissed the case, ruling that "God is not subject to law and does not have an address."
Service of process doesn't work well for the devil either. A 1971 case in Pennsylvania titled "Mayo v. Satan and His Staff" involved a prisoner in Pennsylvania. The judge described the claim as alleging that "Satan has on numerous occasions caused plaintiff misery and unwarranted threats, against the will of plaintiff, that Satan has placed deliberate obstacles in his path and has caused plaintiff's downfall. Plaintiff alleges that by reason of these acts Satan has deprived him of his constitutional rights."
"We question whether plaintiff may obtain personal jurisdiction over the defendant in this judicial district. The complaint contains no allegation of residence in this district.
We note that the plaintiff has failed to include with his complaint the required form of instructions for the United States Marshal for directions as to service of process."
Even though two of these Cadillac hubcaps were repolished, they still command a high value because of their brand and design. It uses the spring-loaded retention famed for its extra protection capacity.
Links are like beer. If one is good, two are usually better. Historical summary.
1680: First used on Newton Reaction Carriages
Pre-1915: Mostly made of nickel-plated brass
1920s: Mostly made of aluminum
1927: First snap-on center caps for wire wheels
1930s: Spring-loaded retention clip used
1938: Full wheel covers introduced
1940: Hubcaps expanded in size for function
1940s: Dog dish hubcaps featured on base model vehicles
1950s: Lack of hubcaps represented in drag racing
1960s: Stainless steel full-spoke wheel covers introduced
1970s: Plastic wheel covers introduced
1980s: ABS wheel covers replaced steel hubcaps on all cars
Here is a rundown of Christmas train rides in the United States. Any done a Christmas train adventure?
Sip a cup of hot cocoa and nibble a warm sugar cookie when you hop aboard the 1880 Train‘s one-hour Holiday Express journey with Santa and Mrs. Claus. These holiday train rides depart from Hill City in the heart of the Black Hills, near some of the state’s biggest attractions, including Custer State Park, Crazy Horse Memorial, and Mount Rushmore National Memorial. Adults may purchase a spiked ticket and enjoy their hot drink enriched with a potent potable served in a keepsake mug.
Club ONT Recognizes Energetic Christmas Decorations
Because nothing says 'Murica quite like a Christmas light show (with fireworks) that is bright and busy enough to distract nearby air traffic.
*****
Club ONT disclaims any responsibility for injuries sustained by Grandma from incidents with reindeer. Reindeer are known for being out and about this time of year and not all Reindeer have the benefit of a red-nosed guide. Caution is warranted.
The Netflix original film A House of Dynamite will likely contend for Academy Award nominations and victories. The movie is directed by Kathryn Bigelow, who won a Best Director Oscar in 2010 for The Hurt Locker.
Bigelow has directed several near-classics (or camp, depending to whom you are speaking) such as Zero Dark Thirty, Point Break and Blue Steel.
From The Hurt Locker forward, however, she has become the go to filmmaker for military dramas and thrillers, and thus we arrive at 2025’s A House of Dynamite.
A House of Dynamite is another entry into what can only be called the nuclear holocaust sub-genre of war pictures. From Dr. Strangelove to Fail Safe to War Games to By Dawn’s Early Light (and on TV The Day After), the countdown to nuclear war and –sometimes— its aftermath never seems to get old. How could it really? The end of the world is inherently terrifying and addictive to think about.
In Bigelow’s latest rendering, we follow the detection of a missile launch from somewhere in Asia as the rocket travels toward the United States. The movie takes a novel approach to the topic, dividing into three, nearly real-time parts from different perspectives.
The first point of view belongs to a team at a remote military post in Alaska which detects the launch, tracks it, and fires counter measures. The second is from the national security bunker beneath the White House, as assembled personnel coordinate diplomatic efforts between foreign governments, cabinet secretaries, and the President himself— while also reviewing response scenarios. The third is from the President of the United States, as he is informed of the danger and considers counter attack scenarios that could engender Armageddon.
A House of Dynamite is well-scripted and well-paced. Some will not like the structure and the switches in point of view, but it mainly works.
Yet here is the rub: in all her years of capturing warfare and military ops on film, I am not sure Bigelow was ready for an enemy as crafty and lethal (a movie killer) as DEI.
One can make any picture one likes, but nominations and awards by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences for Best Picture of the year now come with a catch. In order to be considered for the top Oscar, a movie must allot a certain percentage of roles and work to minorities and/or underprivileged classes.
Formally, it is called the ‘Representation and Inclusion Standards’. You can follow the link to see the full set of requirements. Don’t meet the standards and you can forget about a Best Picture nomination. The rules are as decipherable as instructions on how to put a desk from IKEA together. Or to be more literary, they are Byzantine.
There are probably bean counters somewhere who help studios figure out if they are complying.
What does it add up to? It makes many movies worse than they should be and possibly some great pictures average. In the case of A House of Dynamite, DEI detracted from the tension and fluidity the film worked hard to establish. How? Allow me to explain.
As mentioned, A House of Dynamite depicts a presumed nuclear missile launch from a foreign adversary (North Korea most likely). Whether it is the Norks or not what becomes certain is the missile will hit a target in the United States in twenty minutes. An alphabet soup of agencies and departments are scrambled to assess the situation and strategize a response as well as fallout.
Interspersed through each sequence, we follow the storyline of a top FEMA agent who is charged with readying a plan should the missile attack destroy a major American city (Chicago is the projected landfall). This FEMA agent is a black woman.
Her thread of the movie bears no weight on anything that happens. She is not in any kind of chain of command that would be necessary to shooting the missile down or planning a counter attack against the aggressor.
Some might think it is interesting to see how FEMA prepares, but in the context of this narrative, these glimpses contribute nothing dramatic. They are entirely extraneous, and had they been excised it would not have affected the story in the least.
The second instance of DEI is not just mundane, it is ridiculous. It occurs only in the second sequence, when government officials are attempting to ascertain the source of the missile launch.
The entire intelligence apparatus appears befuddled, so the deputy national security advisor calls the one person alone who can validate or invalidate the North Korea theory: some woman (presumably of Korean or Asian ancestry) who is attending a Gettysburg battlefield re-enactment.
I am sure experts can point out details A House of Dynamite gets wrong in terms of who is in charge of what and how certain rooms look or operate. But it takes no technical familiarity to see it is that the two-minute appearance of this character is anything more than a DEI concoction.
I doubt DEI requirements affect every movie’s story in the negative, and perhaps sometimes the quotas are met off screen (in the crew and staff), but in A House of Dynamite, it was obvious to me DEI hobbled the script in these two very distinct sequences.
If I am being charitable, I might say these are simply bad choices—unrelated to DEI— but I do not think a veteran storyteller such as Bigelow would be this clumsy if her hand was not being forced.
The dumbest aspect to all of this is the President—in A House of Dynamite—is a black man (played by Idris Elba), and the person in charge of the subterranean, White House ops team is a woman (Rebecca Ferguson). Plenty of supporting roles are filled by minorities and women. Were these not enough to meet the quotas?
In storytelling, it has long been advised to “kill your darlings.” That is, as a writer or director, you often fall in love with a piece of dialogue or a scene, and because you are emotionally attached to it you cannot see it should be cut. But if you work up the gumption to kill that darling, you end up with a better result.
Now, the Academy is telling filmmakers not only to preserve darlings but also insert certain darlings, no matter what the narrative consequences. What an abysmal way to guide creators.
Furthermore, why exactly do we need DEI guidance for movies (or anywhere)? It is 2025. Has the work of Spike Lee, Jordan Peele, Oprah, Tyler Perry (ugh) and many others been stopped from appearing or succeeding?
As concerns, A House of Dynamite, once you exclude the two sequences I mentioned, the conservative argument against affirmative action had already won. The best people for the roles (Elba and Ferguson) got them and played them well. The movie did not need anything tacked on, unless it was to soothe the ideological egos of DEI loons.
In fact, let’s call DEI in the movies (or anywhere else) what it is: classic Marxism. In trying to right inequities and level the playing field, it destroys everything saving the technocratic class which adopted the rules and self-congratulates itself astride the ruins.
And just as Marxism discourages work and gain, I wonder if DEI standards will discourage filmmakers from making movies that have traditionally earned nominations. Many top tier filmmakers will refuse to be hamstrung by arbitrary rules, and poetasters will be the only ones left making pictures eligible for Academy Awards.
If one believes the quality of Hollywood’s best films have been declining the past two decades, that slide will become a freefall—all made possible by a faulty and pernicious house of DEI.
Welcome hobbyists! Pull up a chair and sit a spell with the Horde in this little corner of the interweb. This is the mighty, mighty officially sanctioned Ace of Spades Hobby Thread. As previewed, the Ace of Spades Wheel of Hobbies (TM) landed on Christmas Ornaments, Part 2.
Last week, the call went out for Horde Christmas ornament submissions. Are you thinking "I'm a grinch that did not submit an ornament, but I am eager to see what others submitted. I can't wait to get into the content!" I knew it. Enjoy.
[Top Photo: The Official Club ONT Restroom token Christmas ornament.]
As per usual Hobby Thread etiquette, keep this thread limited to hobbying. All (legal) hobbying is welcome. However, politics, current events and religious debates can live in threads elsewhere. Pants are optional but please fully assess the temperature situation if you choose to go without. Puns are welcome and encouraged. No AI was used in the preparation of this post. Commentary on active sporting contests is permitted.
Play nice. Don't be a troll and do not feed the trolls.
***
Wrote this last week and still seems to apply, so works for a repeat.
Christmas ornaments are more than plastic, wood, metal or glass. They may have aesthetic value but usually they are important and valued because of their origin story. Could be a special person or relative that gifted it. Could be someone that made it. Could be a treasure from travels or a family tradition. Could be the age and previous owners. Ornaments often have value because of their meaning.
THANK YOU to Morons who submitted treasures for the thread content. Enjoy their stories and share some of your own.
Stories of any holiday crafting is welcome on the thread this week.
***
From Piper:
This beautiful angel means so much to me. Every time I look at it, I smile, not just because it's lovely (it truly is), but because it reminds me of the extraordinary way paths cross. Who would have thought that a little corner of the internet - a blog, of all places - would bring together people who would become such genuine, wonderful friends? But that is what happened.
Not only this, but my mom collected angels, which made this even more special - and exactly what I needed. This Angel came with a message that I still read to bring me encouragement during tougher days. I wish everyone a Christmas filled with warmth, peace, and the same kind of unexpected joy this angel has brought to me.
***
From ARiK:
The Rocking Horse Baby's First Christmas was from our first child. A special Christmas in many ways.
The bird is from my parents tree and dates back to at least the 1950's. I hope he doesn't poop on my favorite car below it!
Last is the manger scene showing the possibly apocryphal fourth Magi on the far right. Little is known of him except that he arrived late bearing no gifts because his tiny arms were too weak to carry anything. Some sources say he ate one of the sheep but this cannot be confirmed.
Ha! Outstanding! I'm glad to see that your nativity set contains all the historically accurate pieces. Well done. Mystery click for you.
***
From Westside Dano:
Neurosurgeon next door devoted himself to woodcarving after retirement. Every Christmas he gifted us a unique piece. You can see he was active in Kiwanis (with my dad). These occupy a place of honor on our shelves each Christmas.
***
From tRusty Christmas:
I've had this wreath since my first truck, a 1985 GMC Jimmy - which tRusty #2 now calls his own. But it looks really good here, on my '52 Hornet.
***
From Sinead in AK:
My brother made a dozen reindeer ornaments out of wine corks for my tree before he passed away in 2019. They are precious to me. Merry Christmas to all!
***
From Skip:
These and dozens more were hand painted by me, some by my wife decades ago. Not sure where we got them every year. Pottery Barn maybe? Found a few not painted first.
***
From Stephen Price Blair:
We had a lot of homemade clothes and homemade ornaments when I was growing up. I still have a few of them. We each had a cloth horse head ornament meant to hold a candy cane, which was ours to take on either on Christmas Eve, or on Christmas morning before everyone was awake - we couldn't open our gifts until everyone was at the tree.
I'm somewhat ashamed to say that as I got older I was often the one who slept in longest. However, on Christmas Eve there was one small gift we were allowed to open and on Christmas morning we could open our stockings. The combination kept us happily busy while waiting for the whole family to appear. I don't remember when the horse head candy canes were fair game, but probably in the morning since they constituted a decoration and I doubt we were allowed to raid the tree itself until Christmas arrived.
I posted this photo to our family chat last week and discovered that the colors on this ornament are the school colors one town over, where my dad grew up. Each ornament had different colors, so now I'm wondering if they all had some significance known only to mom! (More likely they had significance that mom thought was obvious and which I was completely oblivious to.)
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From OrangeEnt:
A couple of pix from handmade Christmas decor for next week. The first one is a nativity scene I made in first grade in 1968. It was intact until 2023 when I broke off the tip of the pine tree and lost one of the sheep. Also, Mary lost her head, which I was able to superglue on. It will never be packed away again.
The second one is a die cut wooden scene the youngest painted a couple of years ago.
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From BarelyScaryMary:
This is my beloved Blow Mold Santa. My grandparents had one like him when I was little and I loved him. This one I scored at a thrift store. He's a little beat up but jolly and reminds me of happy times with family.
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From Sabrina Chase:
The one on the left is one of a set passed down in the family for generations. I think it is German. The other is a very energetic (and heavy) enamel dragon. All supported by my *fully home-grown tree*!
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From Mrs. IS Roth:
These are three of my favorite ornaments from recent years. Many years these end up being some of my less-complicated embroidery because by the time I finish making embroidered Christmas cards, I am all Christmas-embroideried out, but I do always make something different, so that each one can remind us of that particular Christmas.
These are icicle ornaments I make from flat wire. The twist is done with a jig my husband, IS ROTH, made for me. The shepherd's crook at the top is freehand, and helps make it more of a Christmas ornament instead of just a winter ornament. The ones I make for other people are uniform, but mine are varied, ostensibly under the theory that being varied makes them more real-looking as a group, but also because I experimented with different twist-rates before settling on one, and IS ROTH would have been more inquisitive about how much the experiments were adding up to if I had not had a use for them.
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By popular demand...
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Where are handmade wooden Christmas ornaments made in Germany?
Have a close look at this picture from our collection:
Now watch this video. This is in German but worth watching even if you don't know German. Special interest for the woodworkers and whittlers. The pictures speak for themselves.
Yes, it exists and everything is as charming as it looks. Sadly, becoming too expensive to survive.
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Did you miss the Hobby Thread last week? We did an Christmas Ornament theme. The comments may be closed, but you can re-live the content.
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Notable comments from last week:
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Words of wisdom:
"Because despite all our troubles, when things are grim out in that wide round world of ours, that's when it's really important to have a good hobby." Posted by: tankascribe at June 22, 2024 07:41 PM (HWxAD).
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If you have trouble finding something in the content or comments that resonates with you, seek professional help. Send thoughts, suggestions and photos of your hobbying to moronhobbies at protonmail dot com. Do mighty things.
I wasn't sure if anyone had updated AofS people who had donated to Shep's Place in honor of Jewells (Julie McGuire). I was in contact with Shep's Place, and wanted everyone to know that the donation goal for naming a room for Jewells at their new facility had been met. Shep's Place asked that their thanks be extended to everyone at Ace of Spades who donated in Jewells' name.
Well done all!
Thanks to all in the Horde who donated. We so loved to read Jewells' updates on the special pups at Shep's Place.
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Meet The PetMorons
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These photos are from 2010 when we had two Abyssinian kittens in the house, but they were interested in the Hannukah menorah upstairs and the Christmas "tree" downstairs.
That year we set up the Charlie Brown Christmas Tree and had to practically weld the lone ornament to it or it would have been batted all around the living room; couldn't leave the menorah attended for a second while the candles were burning, either!
Use whichever pictures you feel work best.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and yours, and thanks for running the wonderful Pet Thread!
-- Tankascribe
Those kitties present a challenge for decorators! Thanks for sending in the photos!
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Please see attached pictures of my Christmas elves!! Camilla is the small girl --a terrier mix--who used to help my contractor as a pup. She loves walks, treats and Christmas sweaters. Alexis is the Australian Sheppard mix that was dumped on the road in rural central Texas. Unbelievable anyone could abandon such a sweet, smart girl who LOVES to herd cattle, chase cats and chew on EVERYTHING!! We want you to know how much we love the Pet Thread (and all of Ace of Spades) all of the time and we want to wish everyone a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!!.
NIC: Ozzie
What adorable elves!
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Longtime reader and semi-professional lurker here, but I’ve got some Christmas-themed cat pictures for you.
They feature the youngest amongst our set, who found their way to Nogglestead a couple years back. One kitten showed up in my below-grade office window, and when I went out to find him, I heard meowing from our windbreak about thirty yards away. I thought it was a fast kitten, but it turns out there were two kittens: One in the window, and one clinging like a koala bear about four feet up the trunk of a tree. We eventually adopted them and named them Nico (Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli) and Cisco (Francisco Domingo Carlos Andres Sebastián d'Anconia—I know, I know, in the book the nickname was Frisco, but…) A couple of weeks later, our church’s school posted a picture of another black kitten who wanted to be let in. It was fait accompli—and when the kitten ran across the church parking lot the following Sunday, he came home with us. My beautiful wife named him Paul after St. Paul, but that seemed a little improper to me, so I appended Paul Atreides, the Meow’Dib.
Suddenly, we were heavily kittened. And what clever kittens (now cats) they have proven to be. We had to childproof our house again since they learned how to open cabinets and drawers (we briefly nicknamed Nico “Opa” because he would get into the cabinets and break glasses). They learned how to the open sliding screen doors to let themselves out—and when we put in locks at the top of the screen doors to prevent them from opening them, Meow’Dib taught himself to push out the spline at the bottom of the screens to let himself out.
They’ve proven very curious, and Nico especially likes to involve himself in any work or appliance repair I attempt, climbing ladders, entering the cavities between the joists in the ceiling, sniffing appliance motors, and whatnot.
I have tried to exploit them by creating a line of t-shirts featuring their wisdom (at https://NicoSez.com) and an iPhone app designed to translate your cat’s meows to English (Nico’s Kitty Translator at https://apps.apple.com/us/app/nicos-kitty-translator/id6754846011).
However, attached are some of their Christmas-related exploits: Nico looking up the chimney as though looking for Santa Claus; all three of them in an undecorated Christmas tree (labeled for your convenience); and Nico as the star atop a Christmas tree.
Thanks.
Brian J. Noggle
There are some cats who know how to appreciate Christmas!
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Goodtime Christmas Charlie
Boswell
Everyone must love Charlie!
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Thank you for sharing your pets and animal photos and stories with us today.
If you would like to send pet and/or animal stories, links, etc. for the Ace of Spades Pet Thread, the address is:
petmorons at protonmail dot com
Remember to include the nic or name by which you wish to be known when you comment at AoSHQ, or let us know if you want to remain a lurker.
Some of us might like a little brightening up this time of year. People put together more Christmas season things than we remember sometimes. For example, Fresno is usually considered to be part of Northern California and they have a famous "Christmas Tree Lane" which has been decorated by private homeowners for a hundred years. But I recently learned that even further north, there are community activities including a Creche Exhibit in Palo Alto, Christmas in the Park in San Jose and Dickens's Christmas Faire at the Cow Palace, Daly City.
Maybe we could be brave and do a little decorating at home, too.
Photos were only allowed in a small part of the Creche Exhibit, where organizations put up displays.
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Lighted decorations at home can help people negotiate Northern California fog.
From the beginning of the month.
The evening fog looking more northward from outside our front door. We are in the fog during the day as it raises from the valley. Then settles back down there in the evening.
NorCal Sierra Foothills Lurker
And how about some light in that Alaska darkness? It's now the Winter Solstice, after this photo was taken on or before December 13:
Notice the sun. It won't get higher than that until the end of January.
Well, I could go for some lights in the garden there.
Edible Gardening/Putting Things By
Continuing with our special feature on hazelnuts (one of those Christmas nuts) with 58Mikie! and his favorite book on hazelnut cookery. These nuts are versatile!
Roasting hazelnuts:
Something sweet:
And something you probably haven't thought of before:
Adventure
Neal in Israel sent us some gardening and adventuring photos, perfect for the Hanukkah and Christmas season. Saving photos from Poland and Israel for after Christmas. Starting today with Montenegro, which is across the Adriatic from the heel of Italy. Ever wondered about their music? Their Agriculture?
Well, Neal visited:
Katy, shalom,
I've been sitting on a bunch of photos for some time now, hoping there would be something wow! in the garden, but things have just continued on in a fairly routine manner. So I've decided to stop delaying and send on what I have in hand.
First, something historical: Back in July we visited Montenegro. As the name indicates, much of the country is covered by mountains, and we did a lot of driving on crazy, zigzagging roads. The country is also very well watered, and at least part of the forest cover qualifies as rain forest.
We took a jeep ride up a mountain, and reached areas above the tree line where plant life was confined to grass and low scrub. There were some nice, but very small, wildflowers there, which I tried to photograph. The size of the flowers pictured ranges from about a dime to quarter.
More later:
Fascinating.
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Gardens of The Horde
Hi KT,
One of my coworkers gave me this little Christmas cactus last year. Never expected it to bloom again as I was supposed to move it outside when the temperatures changed to under 50 degrees ambient didn't get warmer than 60 degrees.
Here it is, blooming in time for Christmas, looking all pretty.
BifBewalski
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Hope everyone has a nice weekend.
If you would like to send photos, stories, links, etc. for the Saturday Gardening Thread, the address is:
ktinthegarden at g mail dot com
Remember to include the nic or name by which you wish to be known at AoSHQ, or let us know if you want to remain a lurker.
As Hanukkah continues, and Christmas approaches, perhaps this is a good time to remember that most political issues are temporary, though they may seem permanent to some people.
Matt Taibbi & Walter Kirn talk about Jeffrey Epstein texting Stacey Plaskett questions to ask Michael Cohen during a February 2019 House hearing with the goal to sink Donald Trump. The wheels are about to completely come off the bus.
I haven't really checked into what has been found in the redacted grand jury files. Anybody seen anything interesting?
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Our Legislature At Work Before the Christmas Break
Okay, John Hinderaker went and did it last week! He has abused his stewardship of TWiP and went full Die Hard Christmas Movie Denialist! As the Dude says in The Big Lebowski, this aggression will not stand, man! To restore proper balance in the universe, I am staging a coup d’tat, and am taking over this week’s TWiP. To mix movie references further, John has done a Denethor-level job as Steward of TWiP; time for the Return of the (TWiP) King! Actually, like the Gaza and (prospective) Ukraine ceasefires, we’re going to share power, and alternate TWiP each week. And so as the great John McClain would say on basic cable Christmas season reruns, “Yippie-ki-yay, melon-farmer!”
P.S. Good to see John back covering beauty pageants as straight news (which fits as Melania Trump’s cause as First Lady should be “Make America Straight Again!”), as it was this old practice that partly inspired TWiP in the first place way back in—eeek—2013.
Our friend Assistant Village Idiot has a number of lovely Christmas carols posted, with interesting commentary. Worth scrolling through both the first and second pages of posts. Example:
The story about Henry Wadsworth Longfellow writing the poem in both despair and hope as he heard the bells.
In 1861, two years before writing this poem, Longfellow's personal peace was shaken when his second wife of 18 years, to whom he was very devoted, was fatally burned in an accidental fire. Then in 1863, during the American Civil War, Longfellow's oldest son, Charles Appleton Longfellow, joined the Union Army without his father's blessing. Longfellow was informed by a letter dated March 14, 1863, after Charles had left. "I have tried hard to resist the temptation of going without your leave but I cannot any longer", he wrote. "I feel it to be my first duty to do what I can for my country and I would willingly lay down my life for it if it would be of any good." Charles was soon appointed as a lieutenant but, in November, he was severely wounded in the Battle of Mine Run. Charles eventually recovered, but his time as a soldier was finished.
The Classical Saturday Coffee Break & Prayer Revival
—Misanthropic Humanitarian
[H/T Sharon (Willow's Apprentice)]
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Good morning boys and girls and everything in between. Before we enter the Prayer Revival just a few housekeeping matters to go over. (Rulz for those of you in Escanaba).
1) This is an open thread. Feel free to lurk, opine and/or bloviate.
2) Be kind, be nice. He's checking his list twice or something like that.
3) No running with sharp objects. None. Nada. Zilch.
4) The Fabulous and I wish you a Merry Christmas from the Frozen Tundra.
5) Have a great weekend!
Please submit any prayer requests to me, “Annie’s Stew” at apaslo at-sign hotmail dot com. Prayer requests are generally removed after four weeks unless we receive an update.
Prayer Requests:
11/6 - D sent an update on his wife Susan, and her battle with cancer. He sent his thanks to everyone for the prayers. They are helping and much appreciated. Susan had an infection which is being treated, but her sodium levels are bad again. She will be sent home soon, but is on restrictive fluids until this is cleared up. The good news is that she has gained some weight back and her voice is much stronger now. Thank you, and please keep up the prayers. They appreciate everyone!
11/20 Update – Susan is out of the hospital, after 2 weeks. For the first time in months, she doesn’t have any drainage tubes. Chemo is on hold for the next 2 weeks, to give her time to rest, recover, and gain some weight back. Thank you, everyone, for your prayers – please continue them!
12/18 Update – Susan has been receiving IV antibiotics at home for the last few weeks. Thankfully her white count is back to normal, and she was able to start chemo again. Some of that cancer did come back, in the meantime, but they think it will be knocked back down now. She has been having abdominal pains. Thank you, everybody, for your prayers.
11/15 – Smell the Glove asked for prayers for an 81 year-old aunt who has colon cancer. She is stopping chemo, since it’s not working and it’s tiring her out. Doctors will determine if any other treatment is proper.
11/29 Update – Thank you all for the prayers. The good Lord had another plan and the aunt passed away. She had taught at a Catholic school for over 20 years, raised 3 daughters and had 8 grandchildren. She also babysat Smell the Glove the first couple of years of life.
11/15 – Sponge posted an update on the “First lady”. She is doing OK from the surgery pain-wise, however it appears her compromised immune system from chemo is susceptible to viruses. She has been spiking a fever all weekend.
12/13 Update – The First lady is doing well. She is still on restrictions but things are progressing nicely. The last mammogram showed clean. They are grateful to all who have been praying for her.
11/20 - Bluebell sent an update on grammie winger - good news! At her appointment, the doctor said her bloodwork is nearly perfect and her cancer cell count is dropping. She is in minimal pain. The chemo is working, thanks be to God! She will go back in 3 weeks for another round of chemo and then they will do a CT scan to see if she can have surgery to clean out the rest of the tumors. She is convinced – CONVINCED – that this is due in no small part to the treasured prayers of friends and family! They gave her weeks, and now she is looking at possible remission.
12/17 Update – Bluebell sent along another update from grammie winger. She has had 4 rounds of chemo, which have fried her short term memory (her words) and caused great fatigue. She was scheduled for surgery this week, but the doctor decided she was too weak, so she will continue with chemo until she is stronger. She apologized for not being around much because she can’t follow conversations, but is praying that will get better once her chemo is over. In the meantime, she wishes to share her Christmas greetings with the “motley crew”, and she appreciates every prayer.
11/22 – Duke Lowell posted an update. He said that he is gradually starting to feel normal again, two months after his surgery. The main problem is that the effects of anesthesia are still suppressing his appetite.
11/22 – Commissar Hrothgar posted prayers for President Trump, to keep him safe from harm and may the many forces of evil arrayed against him and our country be made ineffective and come to naught.
11/22 – Oddbob requested prayers. He found out that his job is going away the end of December. They are a one-income family. He also requested prayers for another co-worker, who is in the same situation.
11/22 – Cosda sent an update on his wife’s condition. She started a year of immunotherapy in June for cancer. She is doing well with her treatments every three weeks, but her follow up dermatology scan found another mole with melanoma and 2 other abnormal and suspicious spots. She will be having more tissue removed from those areas for lab tests. Prayers are appreciated.
11/22 – The Walking Dude sent an update. We prayed for his mom in August, when she fell and broke her hip. She is 90 years old. She is still in the hospital but has been transferred to a better rehab run by the Masons. They are unsure if she will ever get out. Please pray for her recovery and return home.
11/24 – Bulg requested prayers for a neighbor who has cancer, and also prayers for his son and two of his friends, who are moving into a rental house in Arlington, VA on 11/28. Prayers for the 3 of them, that they may live together contentedly, and prayers for Bulg and his wife as they adjust to their son’s absence.
11/26 Update – The neighbor passed away on 11/24. Prayers are needed for the neighbor’s husband, Steve, as he grieves. They had no children.
11/29 – From about That Time asked for prayers after a lymphoma diagnosis. From about That Time has already begun chemo, and the kids and granddaughter had fun cutting off a ponytail and shaving hair in preparation.
12/13 Update – The first week of chemo was “like buttah”, but the second week was spent in the hospital, dealing with side effects.
12/1 – P received news that her 24 year old daughter has changed her name to a male name and had “top surgery”. P needs wisdom as to how to speak to her, and also how to speak with P’s other children, in a loving but honest way. Also, that God will use this to turn all their hearts back to Him.
12/3 – Teresa in Fort Worth posted an update. She had an MRI on 12/3, and will meet with the oncologist on 12/4, the surgeon on 12/8, and the surgery on 12/11. This is a good thing, because it looks like more tumors are starting to crop up in her liver. It doesn’t appear to have spread beyond there yet, thank goodness.
12/12 Update – Teresa’s liver is still intact, and she will be going home with a HAI pump inside her liver, which will provide medication in a more targeted attack against the cancer.
12/13 Update – Teresa is up and around, recovering fairly quickly from surgery.
12/18 Update – Teresa will have a “pump fill” on Friday, then head out of town. (The fill is just Heparin and saline to keep the pump flowing for the next 2 weeks.) After they are back, the pump will have the new chemo medication. The best Christmas present is, if this pump works, she could go 2-3 YEARS before worrying about the cancer coming back. It is truly a Christmas miracle. She wrote that they are blessed to have such stellar medical care nearby and so many people saying prayers on their behalf.
12/4 – E asked for prayers as she will be having surgery in two weeks. She is nervous, but everyone she has spoken with has nothing but good things to say about the surgeon, and she is looking forward to being on the other side of it. Please pray that all will go according to God’s will and that His name will be glorified.
12/6 – M requested prayers for Ron and Sherri. Ron has late stage Parkinson’s/dementia, and he recently fell and shattered his hip. He also requested prayers for Al, who fell through a railing and then down 12 feet, and broke seven ribs. He also punctured his lung. He is home now, recovering.
12/6 – Comrade Flounder asked for prayers for his FIL, who went to the hospital for AFIB, congestive heart, and received two stents. FIL is home now, still short of breath, and has a long road ahead. He is a kind-hearted man and a loving father. Comrade Flounder’s wife lost her mother a few years back to brain cancer, so having this go on is even more difficult during the holidays.
12/6 – neverenoughcaffeine asked for prayers for Tim, an acquaintance through church. He has prostate cancer and begins 28 days straight of radiation.
12/6 – pawn asked for prayers for a dear friend named Julia, who was told by her doctors that she has very little time to live. Julia has an incredible mind and drive. She was a Naval officer, a college professor, a competitive sailor, and a mother. She went to the hospital with pneumonia a couple of weeks ago and left with a terminal illness diagnosis. Please pray to God to give her the strength she needs in these last few days, and the peace that comes from acceptance.
12/12 – Bulg requested prayers for his wife’s brother’s wife, whose dementia has taken a turn for the worse. This week she entered a memory care facility. He asks for prayers for her, Bulg’s brother-in-law, and their two grown daughters. Bulg also asked for prayers for a woman from church who has cancer, and the woman’s granddaughter, who lives with her.
12/13 – Our Country is Screwed asked for prayers for a dear friend’s 3 week old granddaughter who is battling meningitis. They are waiting on results from and MRI. Another friend’s wife is having kidney issues. She has only one kidney, and it isn’t functioning well.
12/13 – San Franpsycho requested prayers for Mrs. F, who sprained her foot due to a fall on 12/12.
12/13 – FenelonSpoke asked for prayers for retired organist Jessie, for strength and for her to feel God’s love. In the past month Jessie’s daughter has died from cancer, as have her two closest friends from church, whom she had known about 85 years.
12/13 – Schnorflepuppy asked for prayers for his wife. She was diagnosed a few weeks back with inflammatory breast cancer and started chemo on 12/2. On 12/3 she spiked a 104 fever and had to be brought to the hospital, where they discovered pneumonia. She has been in ICU for most of the week, to get her enough oxygen and work on the pneumonia. She is improving, but slowly.
12/16 – Jim in Kalifornia sent an update that surgery went well, and his thanks for the prayers.
12/16 – Banana Dream asked for prayers for his wife, who is having surgery on 12/17 to remove pins, steel, hardware, etc. that was put in a year ago after a really bad break of her ankle. The hardware has caused various nerve issues and inflammation over the last year, so the surgeons will be removing it.
12/17 Update – Banana Dream sent his thanks to everyone who offered prayers for his wife’s surgery. It went well. The surgeon removed most of the hardware. There was one part that was too fused with the bone, so it had to stay in. She is doing well. In about 2 weeks, she should be able to walk and then in 6-8 weeks she should be fine.
12/17 – Annie’s Stew sends thanks to God for notsothoreau, who sends many, many prayer requests from the various comments and postings. Notsothoreau is so diligent and such a sweet person!
12/17 – Weird Dave requested prayers. His parents have realized they need to move to assisted living, but they are 1500 miles from Weird Dave. Prayers for clarity on how to make the necessary changes as efficiently as possible, as well as to find the best place for his parents, that will also work for the entire family.
For submission guidelines and other relevant info, please contact Annie's Stew, who is managing the prayer list. You can contact her at apaslo at-sign hotmail dot com. If you see a prayer request posted in a thread comment, feel free to copy and paste it and e-mail it to Annie's Stew. She tries to keep up with the requests in the threads, but she's not here all of the time, so she may not see it unless you e-mail it to her. Please note: Prayer requests are generally removed after four weeks or so unless we receive an update.
2 Corinthians 4:8-9
We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.
A couple of weeks ago I found a mini-PC that was priced - in Australia at least - at just 20% more than the cost of the RAM it includes. It uses regular laptop DIMMs so even if the PC doesn't turn out ideal it's a decent price and lets me upgrade any laptop I buy during the memory drought.
Right after I bought it the price went up and I thought I'd ordered just in time, but then the price came back down.
And a week ago memory prices had climbed to match the price of the whole computer, so I bought another one. I have them both set up and they seem to work well.
And now as memory prices continue to climb, the memory alone is 20% more than the cost of the entire computer, so, yeah, you know it. I think I'm set for computers for a while.
I tried out Ethernet-over-Thunderbolt networking today. Plugged in the cable between the two PCs and got instant 20Gb Ethernet. Magic.
It's not a perfect system - the Ryzen 7 255 lacks an NPU, and it only has one rear USB-A port and that port is USB 2.0 - and it's not one I can recommend to most readers because it costs 60% 70% more in the US than in Australia. But it's pretty good for my needs given the destruction that AI buildouts are wreaking on affordability right now.
Key to the new system is building an AI that knows things, rather than just going by statistical language patterns. That is, it has a world model as well as a language model, and the world model is definitive.
This is one of the four steps absolutely required to build a generally useful AI.
The risers swung around his neck, connectors cracked his dome
Suspension lines were tied in knots around his skinny bones
The canopy became his shroud, he hurtled to the ground
And he ain't gonna jump no more
It may seem like I took the day off, but trust me, I didn't. It was a frustrating and expensive day. It's never fun having a complete stranger looking into your computer and maybe stealing all of your passwords.
Three year old girl helps put Reggie the Wombat to bed.
Adoption day. I think there are two dogs here because people often bring their current dog to meet the potential adopted dog, to make sure they get along.
In Fulton County, Georgia -- Big Fani's Home County -- 315,000 "Votes" Were Counted Despite Missing the Necessary Signatures
—Ace
No big deal. Don't bother checking IDs, don't bother checking if the necessary poll worker signatures are attached to the "votes."
And then prosecute Trump. He's the bad guy here.
Fulton County: 'We Don't Dispute' 315,000 Votes Lacking Poll Workers' Signatures Were Counted In 2020
Fulton County admits 2020 election did not follow rules
'When the law demands three signatures on tabulator tapes and the county fails to follow the rules, those 315,000 votes are, by definition, uncertified.'
Brianna Lyman
Earlier this month, Fulton County admitted that approximately 315,000 early votes from the 2020 election were illegally certified but were nonetheless still included in the final results of that election.
The admission came during a Dec. 9 hearing before the Georgia State Election Board (SEB) stemming from a challenge filed by David Cross, a local election integrity activist. Cross filed a challenge with the SEB in March 2022. Cross alleged that Fulton County violated Georgia statute in the handling of advanced voting ahead of the November 2020 election, counting hundreds of thousands of votes even though polling workers failed to sign off on the vote tabulation "tapes" critical to the certification process.
And Fulton County admitted to it.
Ann Brumbaugh, attorney for the Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections, told the SEB in the hearing that while she has "not seen the tapes" herself, the county does "not dispute that the tapes were not signed." Brumbaugh continued, "It was a violation of the rule. We, since 2020, again, we have new leadership and a new building and a new board and a new standard operating procedures. And since then the training has been enhanced. ... But ... we don't dispute the allegation from the 2020 election."
Georgia's Secretary of State Office investigated the alleged failure to sign tabluation tapes and "substantiated" the findings that Fulton County "violated Official Election Record Document Processes when it was discovered that thirty-six (36) out of thirty-seven (37) Advanced Voting Precincts in Fulton County, Georgia failed to sign the Tabulation Tapes as required [by statute]," according to a 2024 investigation summary. In addition to probing the unsigned tabulation tapes, the investigation also found that officials at 32 polling sites failed to verify their zero tapes.
Georgia law requires that election officials have each ballot scanner print three closing tapes at the end of each voting day. Poll workers must sign these tapes or include a documented reason for refusal. Voting laws also require poll workers to begin each day of voting by printing and signing a "zero tape" showing that voting machines are starting at zero votes.
If there is no record of whether the tabulator was set at zero at the start of polling, there is no way of telling whether ballots from a previous election (or ballots from a test run) were left on the memory card and might later be counted. Notably, this happened in Montana, where officials discovered more votes than were cast and believe the votes were leftover sample data that had not been cleared.
"These signed tapes are the sole legal certification that the reported totals are authentic," Cross told the SEB at the Dec. 9 hearing. "Fulton County produced zero signed tabulator tapes in early voting."
Crazy story here. I detailed just SOME of the problems in Fulton County in my best-seller Rigged. There were 5 -- FIVE! -- serious reasons why two of the five Fulton County officials voted not to certify the troubled county's results. All three Democrats overruled them. https://t.co/skSm4lPnHD
US Attorney's Office: 'Half or more' of $18B billed through state programs tied to fraud
As the U.S. Attorney's Office announced a new batch of charges related to suspected fraudulent billing in Minnesota's government services, officials painted a dire portrait of just how extensive the problem might be.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson on Thursday said the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) pulled claims for 14 programs identified by Minnesota officials as being particularly vulnerable to fraud and found $18 billion in Medicaid billing since 2018.
While not all of those payments were illegitimate, Thompson estimated "half or more" of the $18 billion was received through fraudulent means, though he said prosecutors are still working to find the exact number.
"The magnitude of fraud in Minnesota cannot be overstated. It's staggering amounts of money that's been lost," Thompson said.
The Department of Labor announced on Monday it is sending staff to Minnesota to investigate concerns about fraud in the state's Unemployment Insurance Program.
The department's decision to authorize an "on-site specialized UI strike team" in Minnesota makes it the latest of several federal agencies deploying agents to investigate reports of widespread fraud in the state's welfare programs, including those from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
"I am appalled at what we are hearing about potential fraud coming from numerous benefits programs in Minnesota," Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said in a statement.
"If there has been any related abuse of our UI systems, it will not be tolerated, and I trust our specialized strike team to get to the bottom of this and report their findings directly to me," she continued. "Our mission to protect American workers remains unchanged, and I will not allow malicious actors to destroy the integrity of this trusted program."
A Georgia State Election Board investigation substantiated that Fulton County violated election rules in 2020 by failing to have poll workers sign required tabulation tapes for early votes in 36 out of 37 advanced voting precincts, affecting approximately 315,000 ballots.
These unsigned tapes broke the chain-of-custody and certification requirements under Georgia law, which mandates signed tapes as the sole legal proof of authentic vote totals.
During a board meeting on December 9th, Ann Brumbaugh, attorney for the Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections, contends that Fulton County does “not dispute that the tapes were not signed.”
I'm taking the computer in to a repair shop. Unfortunately I'll only be posting open threads from the phone. Now my computer doesn't even show a network ability at all
Major computer problems. Cannot connect to internet no matter if I use my home wifi or my phone hotspot, any ideas? I've rebooted and turned the wifi on and off a dozen times
Podcast: Will Ukraine be a flashpoint for a Korean conflict, Trump's intemperate Reiner comments, it's the economy stupid! the Monroe/Trump Doctrine, Bondi, Brown, MIT, and more!
Megyn Kelly finally calls out Candace Owens
Whoops, I meant she bravely attacks Sydney Sweeney for "bending the knee." (Sweeney put out a very empty PR statement saying "I'm against hate." Whoop-de-doo.)
Megyn Kelly claims she doesn't want to call people out on the right when asked about Candace Owens but then has no compunctions at all about calling people out on the right.
As long as they're not Candace Owens. Strangely, she seems blind and deaf to anything Candace Owens says. That's why this woman calls her "Megyn Keller."
She's now asking her pay-pigs in Pakistan how they think she should address the Candace Owens situation, and if they think this is really all about Israel and the Jews.
Podcast: Pete Hegseth is everything the left hates...and we love! Illinois is the next flashpoint for federal supremacy with regard to our borders, Trump's communication leaves something to be desired, and more!
I have happily forgotten what Milo Yiannopoulos sounds like, but I still enjoyed this impression from from Ami Kozak.
Well, bamboo is actually a type of grass, and underground, it's all connected in a sprawling network, just like the parts of this story I never wanted to tell. I wish I hadn't been put in this position, that I didn't have to write about any of this, that I didn't have to subject myself or my loved ones to embarrassment and further loss of privacy.
We're back to the fucking bamboo. Guys, I don't think I can pay for bamboo ruminations.
I think he added that because he was embarrassed about all the bamboo imagery from Part 1. He's justifying his twin obsessions: His ex, and bamboo. Which is not a tree but a kind of grass, he'll have you know.
On Tuesday, the book arrived in stores. At lunchtime, in the Midtown Manhattan nexus of media and publishing, interest in Nuzzi's story seemed more muted. The Barnes and Noble on Fifth Avenue had seven copies tucked into a "New & Notable" rack next to the escalator, below Malala Yousafzai's "Finding My Way." Not many had sold so far, a store employee said.
A few blocks uptown, at a branch of the local independent chain McNally Jackson Books, a few volumes lay on a table of new and noteworthy nonfiction near the front of the store. No one was lining up to get them, or even browsing. Bookseller Alex Howe told CNN around 3 p.m. that though the store had procured "several dozen" copies, not a single one had yet sold -- a figure he said was surprising, considering how many people in media and publishing work in the area.
"We ordered a lot and so far, people have not been beating down the door," Howe said. "I'm not sure where we're gonna put them because right now, supply is outpacing demand." (A manager at McNally Jackson noted that Howe was speaking only in a personal capacity, not as a representative of the store.)
She trashes Ryan Lizza for his "Revenge Porn" here. Emily Jashinsky says that when the Bulwark's gay grifter Tim Miller asked why she didn't report on the (alleged) use of ketamine by RFKJr., she broke down in tears and asked to end the interview.
Podcast: Sefton is back with CBD to discuss killing narco-terrorists (we are both for it!), the TN special election, Trump's communication skills, and more!
Incumbent Senator John Cornyn (RINO - TX) betrayed his party and his country by voting in favor Biden's Afghan resettlement bill in 2021. Cornyn voted to bring in the Afghan who shot two National Guard soldiers on US soil. A vote for Cornyn is an endorsement of importing unvetted, radicalized murderers. [Buck]
Christmas In Time: A Collection of Short Stories
(Sarah A. Hoyt's Short Story Collections)
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![20251214-20251214_073516[1].jpg](http://ace.mu.nu/archives/20251214-20251214_073516[1].jpg)
